Diana,
I am in general agreement with you about the destructive practices society indulged in early in my lifetime. ?I had the benefit of riding in a car with seatbelts several years earlier than most children because my father was a civilian employee of the Air Force, and it instituted (and installed) an all-seatbelts rule in the early 1960s, with the consequence that our car had aircraft lap belts! ? But here is a troubling reflection of over-protection from today's Sigma Xi Science News: School Lab Health and Safety Rules 'Could Stop Future Scientists' from the?Times?(London) It is a scientific fact, tested and proven by generations of pupils, that experiments in school laboratories win young people to the cause of science. White coats, goggles and the chance to set fire to things foster a passion for chemistry that even years of examinations do not extinguish. But government advisers and eminent scientists are warning of a disturbing development that could endanger generations of future scientists: pupils are no longer allowed to experiment. Health and safety concerns are preventing students--including those taking A levels--from performing vital and exciting investigations into what happens when one sets fire to magnesium ribbon, or drops a small glob of sodium into a dish of water. http://snipr.com/sc4xr Roger Moore Greater Houston Grotto -----Original Message----- From: Diana Tomchick <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: [email protected] Sent: Mon, Oct 5, 2009 10:15 am Subject: Re: [Texascavers] new Texas laws I am reminded of my mother's purchase of a Dodge passenger van in 1965. She had 6 children and needed a vehicle large enough for all 8 people plus it needed to do double duty hauling sacks of feed and farm equipment. Back then seat belts were standard equipment only for the front two seats. The guys at the dealership complained mightily when she insisted that he install seat belts for ALL the seats in the van, as they had never been required to do this by a customer. My mother told them that by forcing us to wear the seat belts, it limited the amount of fighting we could do with each other (we could only reach our nearest neighbors), and thereby limited the amount of distractions she had while driving.? ? The real reason was that she subscribed to Consumer Reports and was aware of the dangers of not wearing safety restraints in an accident, but she knew that if she mentioned that they would have laughed at her.? ? Every time I watch the TV show "Mad Men" I am reminded of how much our attitudes have changed about smoking, drinking, drinking and driving, etc., and I do not long for the "good old days" at all.? ? Diana? ? On Oct 2, 2009, at 2:35 PM, [email protected] wrote:? ? > I bought an old cargo van from my cousin years ago, and I didn't > like the > fact that it only had two captain's seats. I found another > seat with > seatbelts at a junkyard, and had it installed for not much > money.? >? > Roger Moore? >? >?
